Who has a collection that is a real mess?

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Posted By: Eric Bennett

I haven't posted in eons but I thought I would post my dilema. I like way too much for what I can justify spending on cards. I like sets from every stinking era. Pre-war through the 1950's. So when I do buy cards, I find myself buying what I like of players that I like. Only problem, when look at my collection as a whole, it looks like a hodge podge of nothing. I guess that's ok, I mean collect what you like, right ? I just wish I could have more focus. Any others have this problem? Just curious.

Eric

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Posted By: Al C.risafulli

ABSOLUTELY.

I found myself jumping from set to set for years. Then I tried to focus on a type of set (years the Yankees won the WS), but then found myself bumming that I "couldn't" buy cards from issues I liked - anything pre-1923, for instance.

So ultimately I started collecting HOFers, with a goal of owning one card of every person in the HOF. No limitations - tribute cards, regionals, mainstream, whatever I like. To keep some uniformity, so it doesn't look like a "hodge podge of nothing", I have them all graded by SGC, so they all present very well, and look very cohesive when they're presented together. Believe it or not, you can put a Scrapps tobacco, an E98, a '77 Wiffle Disk and a '89 Topps together and have them look just great.

Then I'm working on some smaller sets, just to satisfy the set-builder in me.

Good luck!

-Al

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Posted By: Dave

I've gotten pretty focused on sticking to the T206's and trying to build a somewhat decent collection. I cant afford much..so they aren't the prettiest...PSA 1-3's....but definately satisfying even adding a common player in a PSA 1 knowing i'm getting somewhere.

I will buy the odd card now and then..but generally knowing I can get a bit more for it to afford more T206's!!!!

Dave

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Posted By: DSGreen

My focus came from my love for the Braves and pre-war cards. I have chosen to attempt to obtain a card that represents every year that the Braves organization has fielded a team in honor of my grandfather who was a huge Braves fan. This allows me to collect the issues/sets that I love while also keeping focus on my main interest, the Braves. My lifelong goal is to complete a T206 set.

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Posted By: John S

My "focus" is baseball and football cards from 1887 to 2007...primary focus of pre-war (both football and baseball). As you said, collect what you like. My recent obsessions...Colgan's, S74 Silks, and 1952 Bowman football. Check in next month for a new list.

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Posted By: Ken McMillan

My original group of cards was 1970 topps which were cards I collected as a kid. I started collecting all the topps Cubs from 1951 to current including all errors and variations. Then I incorporated the topps updates cubs. Along the way I sold or traded all but the cubbies. I also collect cards of my great great uncle who played for the yankees in 1921. There are a few eclectic cards other than the cubs and millers, but it is an organized collection.

Ken

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Posted By: barry arnold

Fortunately, I am autohypnotically fixated on T206s.
I am similarly focused on completing the set.
I am at around 490 now and have no dupes---not one.

all the best,

barry

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Posted By: J Levine

Mess is a great way to describe what really is a cohesive collection of mine. As many know, I collect Phillies. From the earliest known images of them to 1989 (arbitrary ending point but after 1989, the amount of sets, chase cards, etc. is absolutely crazy).

Taken as a whole, my collection is a wonderful history of the Phillies but when seen as a whole, it looks like a mess to me. I keep everything in notebooks (in a safe and locked cabinet). Looks wonderfully nice as rows of notebooks dated from 1886-1900, 1901-1933, 1933-1943, etc. When you open the books though the pages look rough. My collection ranges in the fair-nrmt grades but each page has many different issues. Very few pages contain only one issue. Every now and then it looks great as with t206s which is a few pages long. But when you get to caramel issues, I have dockmans, next to nadja, next to e121, next to e126, etc. It gets worse into the 30s, and downright ugly into the '70s and '80s.

Having nearly 2500 sets represented, with over 7500 different Phillies makes it messy...

The good news is that when I need a break from the mess, I pull out my t205 binder and just bask in the beauty of the set.

Joshua

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Posted By: Dylan

The variety of cards and history is what i love so much about baseball. There is so much out there enough to keep a type set collector busy for a lifetime. However I can identify with wanting your collection to have focus. I am working on collecting examples from tobacco sized color cards. Your various E and T sets with several from D,N, and one from C and S and two from M. So it represents over 60 different sets, however all are the same size and color so they present very nicely together. The options are unlimited in how you want to compile your collection.

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Posted By: MVSNYC

dave- i admire your dedication...i feel the same way about T206, but over the years it is so tempting to "sample" other flavors...i just recently spent thousands on WS tix, which i absolutely love, but over the last few months, i realized that i just love T206 way too much to deviate...although i am eyeing up those cracker jack cards these days...


p.s. i am also dabbling with T200 Fatima Team Cards (which i think you would also like, because they feature every player tfrom that era, a huge majority are also in T206)...

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Posted By: Joe D.

I definitely have a 'top' on my want list (RPPCs)....

and then other cool stuff gets waived in front of me on the b/s/t or ebay - and I stray away from the goal.

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Posted By: Dave

Thanks Michael...by the way, I continue weekly here playing the Georgia Lotto...in hopes I can one day give you some competition for the 8's and 9's....ha ha

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Posted By: MVSNYC

dave- i'll let you in on a little secret...

i'm slowly transitioning from my "handful" of 8's & 9's to quantity of mid-grade cards...with an emphasis on rarer cards...

demmitt, o'hara, elberfeld, kleinow, lundgren, etc...i used to have all of them years ago (sans demmitt & o'hara) in lower grades, now i am trying to acquire them in mid-high grade...and of course there's always my beloved mid-high grade rare back collection...

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Posted By: davidcycleback

I've always been a messy collector, collecting from a wide variety of areas. I've never had the
temperment to collect a single set card by card.

I do think that most collectors, even 'focused' ones, collect in more than one areas. For example, collecting
vintage football and vintage baseball, or hockey and baseball, or Pre-War non-sport and Pre-War baseball, cards
and autographs, cards and rock 'n roll posters. On this board, the non-baseball stuff rarely comes up in conversation.
In an occasional thread on this board, collectors have shown pictures of the other stuff they collect.

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Posted By: Darren

I'm definitely a messy collector, I collect almost everything, too many interests not enough $$$.

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Posted By: nbrazil

In prewar, money is 99.9% of the reason why most collectors need to focus or narrow their aspirations. For us mere mortals, it's not possible to collect an entire set of T206s AND dabble in other sets. That's why we refocus. We collect something....see something else we like....buy it...then realize that we dont have the income to collect both sets...and sell one of the two.

I shouldnt generalize. That's what's happening with me. My main focus is T206 and Hall of fame rookies...but, i continue to dabble with other sets and cards. When i realize that my bank account is getting too low, i resell those items.

Patience, stamina, focus and common sense can go a long way in collecting pre war cards with a limited budget.

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Posted By: Brian Lindholme

How's this for a mess, I have cards in 3 states, (Oregon, Washington & Vermont), in friend's houses, in storage units, in my mom's basement, in my car and at my desk.

I have cards from the 1880's up to 2006, lots of different sports, pre-war type cards, Hall of Famers,commons graded and raw, working on 37 different sets right now and can't seem to focus or sometimes find any of them.

I dug through some cards last weekend trying to find my E105 Wagner. I finally did but I didn't think it would be in the box that also had my extra Mike Schmidt rookies , Hockey Hall-of Famers Aurel Joliat & Joe Primeau and a autographed 1987 Topps Rafael Santana card. I thought it would be with my T205 Set or my Uncle Jack's Candy Hack Wilson, but those were mixed with my York Caramels.

Someday I hope that I get it together again, but for me "collection" and "mess" are pretty much the same noun.

Brian L
familytoad

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Posted By: NickM

I like it this way.

My acquisitions within the past week have ranged from a T206 Cycle back (PSA 3) to a stack of PSA baseball from the 50s through 90s to 2006 baseball and basketball refractors.

I'll also have things ranging from pre-war tennis to Goudey nonsport (Indian) to '50s regionals to modern football coming in the next week or so.

Focus is for wimps.

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Posted By: Jason L

cannot compete with Brian's, however, my collection is certainly in transition phase...from 70-80s stuff for 15 years, to 50-60s over the past 4 years, to now starting on pre-war a few months ago...I need to improve my focus or this will run me into the ground!

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Posted By: Keith O'Leary

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Posted By: Bill K

There you go Kieth, taking us off topic!!!

Holy cow by the way...that is a lot of ummm.....stuff.

Back to the matter at hand...I've tried to focus my collection (E95's, T206 HOF Portraits, Horizontals) but I get bored. I'm now in the rut of collecting haphazardly. It's still fun as hell!

Bill

My personal collection - http://s47.photobucket.com/albums/f176/fkm_bky/

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Posted By: Keith O'Leary

"There you go Kieth, taking us off topic!!!" Oh?

 

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Posted By: Brian Weisner

Hi Keith,
Nice stuff........ I'll take your mess anyday.

Be well Brian


PS My middle name is Keith, spelled the same as yours..